Caste
“As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theater, flashlight cast down in the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power—which groups have it and which do not.” In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings. Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people’s lives and behavior and the nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. Using riveting stories about people—including Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball’s Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many others—she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced
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What you might want to know about Caste
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Isabel Wilkerson argues that the American hierarchy of race functions as a centuries-old caste system, and reads it side by side with India's caste structure and the racial laws of the Third Reich.
Caste was an Oprah's Book Club selection in 2020 and a New York Times bestseller for over a year. It was named one of the most important books of the decade by multiple publications.
Caste was written by Isabel Wilkerson, published in 2020 by Random House.
Caste is 496 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Caste takes most readers 7 to 11 hours to finish.
Caste is a standalone novel by Isabel Wilkerson, not part of a series.
Caste is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.